Never Say Never Again
Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously adapted in 1965 under that name. Unlike the majority of Bond films, Never Say Never Again was not produced by Eon Productions, but by an independent production company, one of whose members was Kevin McClory, one of the original writers of the Thunderball storyline with Ian Fleming and Jack Whittingham. McClory retained the filming rights of the novel following a long legal battle dating from the 1960s. The film was directed by Irvin Kershner and, like Thunderball, stars Sean Connery as British Secret Service agent James Bond, 007, marking his return to the role 12 years after Diamonds Are Forever. It is Connery's seventh and final performance as Bond in a feature film. The film's title is a reference to Connery's reported declaration in 1971 that he would "never again" play that role. As Connery was 52 at the time of filming, the storyline features an ageing Bond, who is brought back into action to investigate the theft of two nuclear weapons by SPECTRE. Filming locations included France, Spain, the Bahamas and Elstree Studios in England. Plot After MI6 agent James Bond, 007, fails a routine training exercise, his superior, M, orders Bond to a health clinic outside London to get back into shape. While there, Bond witnesses a mysterious nurse named Fatima Blush giving a sadomasochistic beating to a patient in a nearby room. The man's face is bandaged and after Blush finishes her beating, Bond sees the patient using a machine which scans his eye. Bond is seen by Blush and an attempt is subsequently made to kill him in the clinic gym, but Bond manages to defeat the assassin. Blush and her charge, a United States Air Force pilot named Jack Petachi, are operatives of SPECTRE, a criminal organisation run by Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Petachi has undergone an operation on his right eye to make it match the retinal pattern of the US President, which he uses to circumvent iris recognition security at an American military base in England. While doing so, he replaces the dummy warheads in two cruise missiles with live nuclear warheads; SPECTRE then obtains the warheads to extort billions of dollars from NATO governments. Blush subsequently murders Petachi. Under orders from the Prime Minister, M reluctantly reactivates the double-0 section and Bond is assigned the task of tracking down the missing weapons. He meets Domino Petachi, the pilot's sister, and her wealthy lover, Maximillian Largo, a SPECTRE agent. Bond follows Largo and his yacht to the Bahamas, where he spars with Blush and Largo. Bond is informed by Nigel Small-Fawcett of the British Consulate that Largo's yacht is now heading for Nice, France. There, Bond joins forces with his CIA counterpart, Felix Leiter. Bond goes to a beauty salon where he poses as an employee and, whilst giving Domino a massage, is informed by her that Largo is hosting an event at a casino that evening. At the charity event, Largo and Bond play a 3-D video game called Domination; the loser of each turn receives a series of electric shocks of increasing intensity or pays a corresponding cash bet. Bond ultimately wins. While dancing with Domino, Bond informs her that her brother had been killed on Largo's orders. Bond returns to his villa to find that Nicole, his French contact, has been killed by Blush. After a vehicle chase on his motorbike, Blush captures Bond. She admits that she is impressed with him, and forces Bond to declare in writing that she is his "Number One" sexual partner. Bond distracts her with promises, then uses his Q-branch-issue fountain pen to shoot Blush with an explosive dart. Bond and Leiter attempt to board Largo's motor yacht, the Flying Saucer, in search of the missing nuclear warheads. Bond finds Domino. He attempts to make Largo jealous by kissing Domino in front of his hidden camera. Largo becomes enraged, traps Bond and takes him and Domino to Palmyra, Largo's base of operations in North Africa. Largo coldly punishes Domino for her betrayal by selling her to some passing Arabs. Bond subsequently escapes and rescues her. Domino and Bond reunite with Leiter on a United States Navy submarine and track Largo to a location known as the Tears of Allah, below a desert oasis on the Ethiopian Coast. Bond and Leiter infiltrate the underground facility and a gun battle erupts between Leiter's team and Largo's men in the temple. In the confusion Largo makes a getaway with one of the warheads. Bond catches and fights Largo underwater. Just as Largo tries to detonate the last bomb, he is killed by Domino, taking revenge for her brother's death. Bond returns to the Bahamas with Domino. Cast Bond - Sean Connery - Profile.png|James Bond (Sean Connery) M (Edward Fox) - Profile.jpg|M (Edward Fox) Miss Moneypenny (Pamela Salem) - Profile.jpeg|Miss Moneypenny (Pamela Salem) Q (Alec McCowen) - Profile.jpg|Q (Alec McCowen) Maximillian Largo (Brandauer) - Profile.jpg|Maximillian Largo (Klaus Maria Brandauer) Domino Petachi (Kim Basinger) - Profile.jpg|Domino (Kim Basinger) Ernst Stavro Blofeld Von Sydow.png|Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Max von Sydow) Fatima Blush (Barbara Carrera) - Profile.jpg|Fatima Blush (Barbara Carrera) Leiter (Casey) Profile.png|Felix Leiter (Bernie Casey) Nigel_Small-Fawcett.jpg|Nigel Small-Fawcett (Rowan Atkinson) Lippe_bullworker.jpg|Lippe (Pat Roach) Jack Petachi (Gavan O'Herlihy).jpg|Jack Petachi (Gavan O'Herlihy) Patricia_Hearing.jpg|Patricia Fearing (Prunella Gee) Valerie_Leon.jpg|Lady in the Bahamas (Valerie Leon) *Sean Connery as James Bond, MI6 agent 007. *Kim Basinger as Domino Petachi, sister of Jack Petachi and girlfriend/mistress of Maximillian Largo. *Klaus Maria Brandauer as Maximillian Largo; based on the character Emilio Largo, a senior member of SPECTRE. *Barbara Carrera as Fatima Blush; based on Fiona Volpe and a member of SPECTRE. *Bernie Casey as Felix Leiter, Bond's CIA contact and friend. *Max von Sydow as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE. *Edward Fox as M, Bond's superior at MI6. *Rowan Atkinson as Nigel Small-Fawcett, Foreign Office representative in the Bahamas. *Gavan O'Herlihy as Jack Petachi, a pilot used by SPECTRE to steal the nuclear missiles. He is Domino Petachi's brother. *Alec McCowen as Q (also known as Algy) *Ronald Pickup as Elliott, a government agent working under M *Pamela Salem as Miss Moneypenny, M's secretary *Saskia Cohen Tanugi as Nicole, Bond's MI6 contact in France *Prunella Gee as Patricia Fearing, a physiotherapist at the clinic *Valerie Leon as Lady in Bahamas *John Stephen Hill as Communications Officer *Milow Kirek as Kovacs *Pat Roach as Lippe *Anthony Sharp as Lord Ambrose Images Never Say Never Again.00001.jpg Never Say Never Again.00002.jpg Never Say Never Again.00003.jpg Never Say Never Again.00004.jpg Never Say Never Again.00005.jpg Never Say Never Again.00006.jpg Never Say Never Again.00007.jpg Never Say Never Again.00008.jpg Never Say Never Again.00009.jpg Never Say Never Again.00010.jpg Never Say Never Again.00011.jpg Never Say Never Again.00012.jpg Never Say Never Again.00013.jpg Never Say Never Again.00014.jpg Never Say Never Again.00015.jpg Never Say Never Again.00016.jpg Never Say Never Again.00017.jpg Never Say Never Again.00018.jpg Never Say Never Again.00019.jpg Never Say Never Again.00020.jpg External links * Category:Films Category:1983 release Category:James Bond series Category:Sean Connery films Category:Action Films